Addis Ababa will host the fifth India-Ethiopia Joint Trade Commission meeting from 6th and 7th October, 2008.

Minister of State for Commerce & Power, Jairam Ramesh, will lead the Indian delegation at the meeting where number of important bilateral agreements is expected to be signed.

Among them are pacts to (i) expand the supply of raw skins and hides that are abundantly available in Ethiopia for India’s growing leather manufacturing industry; (ii) to set up an apparel fashion design institute in Ethiopia with the assistance of the Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC); and (iii) to set up a 38 Mw hydel project by BHEL/IL&FS.

In addition, bilateral agreements on standards, small and medium enterprises and agricultural research are on the anvil. The two countries are also in the advanced stages of finalizing a trade agreement to replace the earlier trade agreement signed in November 1982.
India is the single largest foreign investor in Ethiopia with approvals crossing $ 3.5 billion. Of this, $ 2 billion is in the agriculture and floriculture sector alone. A number of Indian private companies are using Ethiopia as a base for the export of flowers to Europe.

In the context of India emerging as the single largest foreign investor in Ethiopia, the two countries are negotiating a double taxation avoidance agreement which is expected to be clinched in the next three months.

India enjoys a huge trade surplus with Ethiopia (exports in 2007/08 were over $ 400 million and imports around $ 14 million).